Computing
"Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of, who
do the things that no one can imagine." Alan Turing
“What everyone ... shares in common is not gender or ethnic background, but motivation, perseverance, and desire — the desire to participate in a voyage of discovery.” - Ellen Ochoa
At Rushey Mead Primary School we continue to prepare our pupils for the future so that they can use technology effectively and safely in their everyday lives. Think about how technology has changed in your lifetime. Who knew that we would be driving electric cars, using our phones as wallets to pay for items and tracking our sleep patterns on smartwatches? Technology will change and develop dramatically throughout our children’s lives, and it is important that our children embrace technology and are able to use it later in life and in the workplace.
At Rushey Mead Primary School we are extremely lucky to have a variety of portable devices that the children can use including 160 Google Chromebooks and 60 Apple ipads. It is important for us as a school that the children experience a breadth of interfaces and platforms as they will experience this outside of school.
Children at Rushey Mead Primary School receive one hour of Computing each week whether this be within Curriculum Enrichment or with their class teacher in class. It is important for us as a school that the children receive an equal breadth of the different aspects in the Computing curriculum. Our children have always been very articulate and had great understanding on how to keep themselves safe online with the Online Safety element of the curriculum, but we have worked hard over the last three years to ensure the children are taught the other aspects of the Computing curriculum including Information Technology and Computer Science.
Along with investing in more devices that the children can use across the curriculum we have invested in a range of hardware that can be used to develop children’s Computer Science skills including: Coding critters, Beebots and Microbits. We received some funding a couple of years ago that allows our Year 5 and 6 children to take part in a Lego Spike Prime Project which is affiliated with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.
In addition, all year groups from Years 1 to 6 learn about a significant individual in Computing whether it be Ada Lovelace in Year 2, Grace Hopper in Year 5 or Alan Turing in Year 6. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about a range of Computer Scientists and mathematicians, and it is often their favourite unit of the year!
Online Safety remains an important part of life at Rushey Mead Primary School. It is embedded throughout the curriculum and in school life. Our children are taught about eight Online Safety aspects through the use of the Project Evolve scheme. Children develop a thorough understanding of how to maintain a healthy online and offline balance, and they understand that certain online content is for certain audiences. Children also understand that information and data posted on the Internet is on there forever and that it is important to maintain their online reputation.
Online Safety assemblies and information workshops are provided for parents throughout the year. Regular updates and information are also provided in the school newsletter and on the school website. We are working towards the Online Safety Mark this year to enable us to show our good practice in Online Safety.
What are the children saying about Online Safety?
"I stay safe in Computing by not sharing my password with others." Year 4 pupil
"We enjoy our Computing lessons because we learn new things every week!" Year 2 pupil
At Rushey Mead Primary School we teach the SMART principles relating to Online Safety. They can be found below.
We look forward to announcing our Digital Leaders in the next few weeks!
Subject Leadership Team
Our Computing subject leaders are:
Miss H Newell
Computing Gallery
